Dark Souls Catch-All

I got the drake sword yesterday. While I like how powerful it is, I hate not being able to thrust. I find that it is my favorite attack. Only being able to slash doesn't feel satisfying, especially in close quarters where it just feels weird. I went back to the longsword and upgraded it twice. I may use the drake sword for some bosses or something, but I think my trusty longsword will be my go-to weapon.

Plus, the drake sword is ugly.

Edit: Oh yeah, the encumbering thing is a bit annoying, too.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

I got the drake sword yesterday. While I like how powerful it is, I hate not being able to thrust. I find that it is my favorite attack. Only being able to slash doesn't feel satisfying, especially in close quarters where it just feels weird. I went back to the longsword and upgraded it twice. I may use the drake sword for some bosses or something, but I think my trusty longsword will be my go-to weapon.

Plus, the drake sword is ugly.

Edit: Oh yeah, the encumbering thing is a bit annoying, too.

Yeah I hated the Drake Sword as well, but it is far and away the most damage dealing sword you can have at that point in the game (barring some suicide runs for weapons). I had big issues down in the Depths with the lack of thrust.

But now my Longsword is a boss and the thrust attack is 75% of what I use.

psoplayer wrote:

Yes I'm locking on enemies. I don't see how the game could be played without it. And I definitely need to try out a bow, just haven't gotten around to it yet. The melee combat is plenty of fun on its own.

Blind_Evil said he doesn't use the lock-on, but he also disdains co-op.

Using a bow isn't particularly fun to me. It just helps me choose my battle ground. It's the only weapon I've used that has range beyond the lock-on radius.

psoplayer wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

What enemies are you talking about? I don't think I ever had a problem hitting any ground-based enemies in Dark Souls.

It may simply be difficulty in hitting them due to my inexperience with the game. Early on I wandered down the elevator to the area just before what I assume would have been the Cathedral? There were a bunch of guys laying around on the ground ignoring me that were hard to hit with my axe but did give up souls once I managed to do so.

A good rule is to not attack anything that isn't hostile to you. You can kill the guys in the New Londo Ruins without consequence but they drop very few souls. It sounds like you were in the New Londo Ruins, but I'm not certain.

Double because I goofed some quote tags and double-clicked while editing or something.

psoplayer wrote:

BTW, this game is a real monster. Not for the hardcore nature or difficulty for which it is known, but for the way it has been all I could think about today.

Yeah, ever since I started playing it's dominated my mind.

Ornstein & Smough down!

I'm a little lost as to where I'm supposed to go now. I assumed it was the giant orange door in Anor Londo but apparently not.

I screwed up. I was going to make a Dragon Covenant character with the highest covenant standing. I was going to use the crow glitch to get the 80 dragon scales needed to max out the covenant. I ended up dropping all 80 of the items at once and ruining any chance I had at getting the dragon scales I need.

Oh man, I didn't know about this follow up attack with the longsword. I can't wait to try it. I usually would just hit R1 to follow up when I had the opportunity.

Sort of a spoiler from the Wiki but not really:

Spoiler:

As with many other straight swords, the longsword's first strong (R2) attack is a forward thrust that deals good damage and can benefit from the Leo Ring. However, unlike weapons such as the balder side sword, the longsword's second strong (R2) attack is not another thrust, but is instead an upward sweep/disembowel move that runs from the end of the thrust attack animation. In other words, the sword is first thrust straight at a target and then, upon a second R2 command input while the sword remains extended, it is slashed upwards to deal additional, separate damage.

Heck I'm not sure I knew that either tuffalo.

I do remember using the R2 spear attack a lot, especially against skeletons to break them apart.

Longsword lovers unite!

And I agree, he was in New Londo Ruins.

BNice: I'm not sure who prompts you as to your next step. The game is super subtle, but there is usually a hint. The problem is that by the time you've stopped expecting clear roadmaps and are ready to wring any shred of a clue from every conversation, you're probably done with the game.

For example, the discouraged knight from Firelink basically tells you where to go immediately after arriving there, but almost every new player comes here and asks where they should be going.

And if you told me some of the folks at From fought over including even those tiny, subtle hints, I wouldn't be surprised.

Just picked this game up on Steam and man, the satisfaction of finally killing something is just great. it took more than 2 hours (and untold deaths vs regular skeletons) before I even thought of facing the big skeleton - which I kinda gamed my way past a 1 on 1 with it, but think I could take it on now.

Before I bought it, I was worried I would hate it and wouldn't be able to get into it. In 2.5 hours it has so far proven my fears to be misplaced. I should be afraid of the game.

Try the path that leads up from the Firelink Shrine.

psoplayer wrote:

BTW, this game is a real monster. Not for the hardcore nature or difficulty for which it is known, but for the way it has been all I could think about today. Totally loving how it had practically no tutorials. Never mind that I don't understand the majority of systems at play (lol whats attunement? my flame lvls up?), I was more empowered in the gameplay I tasted in the first several hours last night than I would expect from the endgame of a 100hr+ rpg. Modern games have conditioned me to expect double-digit hours of light tutorialization (if not the whole game) before granting the kind of agency I already have in the first 30 minutes. It's rather intoxicating. Power to the players!

BNice wrote:
psoplayer wrote:

BTW, this game is a real monster. Not for the hardcore nature or difficulty for which it is known, but for the way it has been all I could think about today.

Yeah, ever since I started playing it's dominated my mind.

mrtomaytohead wrote:

Just picked this game up on Steam and man, the satisfaction of finally killing something is just great. it took more than 2 hours (and untold deaths vs regular skeletons) before I even thought of facing the big skeleton - which I kinda gamed my way past a 1 on 1 with it, but think I could take it on now.

Before I bought it, I was worried I would hate it and wouldn't be able to get into it. In 2.5 hours it has so far proven my fears to be misplaced. I should be afraid of the game.

ONE OF US!

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

Oh man, I didn't know about this follow up attack with the longsword. I can't wait to try it. I usually would just hit R1 to follow up when I had the opportunity.

There are actually quite a few weapons that have extensions on their heavy attacks. The first thing I do when I pick up a new weapon type is try all the different attacks with it: spam R1, spam R2, hit R1 until stamina is nearly gone then hit R2, jump attack, roll attack, and back step attack. Experiment with everything.

Some weapons have special heavy attacks that drain durability in exchange for a ranged/special attack. The Drake Sword and Dragonslayer Spear fall into this category.

heavyfeul wrote:

Try the path that leads up from the Firelink Shrine.

Yeah, I kind of chuckled at the idea that tomayto spent 2 hours training to make it through the cemetery. That said, I know I spent a bunch of time there when I was new, too.

Tonight, my slow march of NG+ prep saw me relieving Priscilla of her soul, which I had not intended to do; I don't see my character as a brutal murderer. I needed it to craft the Lifehunt Scythe, which I did. I did not succeed in getting the tail cut, however.

I think I may be just about ready to go for it.

Fedaykin98 wrote:
heavyfeul wrote:

Try the path that leads up from the Firelink Shrine.

Yeah, I kind of chuckled at the idea that tomayto spent 2 hours training to make it through the cemetery. That said, I know I spent a bunch of time there when I was new, too.

Tonight, my slow march of NG+ prep saw me relieving Priscilla of her soul, which I had not intended to do; I don't see my character as a brutal murderer. I needed it to craft the Lifehunt Scythe, which I did. I did not succeed in getting the tail cut, however.

I think I may be just about ready to go for it.

I uh, ended up back in the cemetery via what I thought was that route. I found some guy who eventually ended up being a merchant and then up some stairs for some stuff and then donw a hole and back outside to a few cheasts and into the cemetery. Guess I'll have to poke around some more - thought there wasn't any other way.

annndd immediately found another path I completely missed.

Just wait, I'll bet you didn't find the OTHER path yet!

Got through the first part of Sen's Fortress tonight. Many ledges were littered with my bloodstains. I then laid down my summoning sign to scope out the boss. Took out some Alphonse Elric lookin' thing with relative ease since I pumped a lot into my pyromancy flame the last few nights. I wanted to do it again just to make sure I understood the boss for my actual run-through. So I plopped down my sign again and began steaming my clothes for work tomorrow. I heard the summon noise mid wrinkle and ran back to the couch. I was totally unprepared for an invader. I had a katana equipped and he dropped right on top of me in that room with all the little pillars. He seemed to be using fire attacks but they just tore through my dragon-crest shield. I saw a summoning sign and tried to call someone but that was my downfall. I didn't even get a single attack in. It was really disheartening to lose my only two humanity to him, but I felt a little consolation when I indicted him.

Question about Sen's Fortress.

Spoiler:

Is there a way to take out the giant that drops the boulders into the rube-goldberg project that is sen's fortress without using like 20 arrows? Also can I jump across the ledge that overlooks him? I tried but my character just slipped down despite being naked.

I can't answer those, but you hopefully know you can change the path of the boulders.

Don't feel bad about the invader; many are pvp pros.

You can always co-op again to get humanity if you need to revive.

S0LIDARITY wrote:

Question about Sen's Fortress.

Spoiler:

Is there a way to take out the giant that drops the boulders into the rube-goldberg project that is sen's fortress without using like 20 arrows? Also can I jump across the ledge that overlooks him? I tried but my character just slipped down despite being naked.

Yes, you can jump that ledge and take him down.

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Just wait, I'll bet you didn't find the OTHER path yet! ;)

Well I made it to a bull and promptly died a ton of times on top of not kicking the ladder for the shortcut for a while. Any suggestions?

mrtomaytohead wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Just wait, I'll bet you didn't find the OTHER path yet! ;)

Well I made it to a bull and promptly died a ton of times on top of not kicking the ladder for the shortcut for a while. Any suggestions?

Check around page 114/115 of this thread for boar talk.

imbiginjapan wrote:
mrtomaytohead wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Just wait, I'll bet you didn't find the OTHER path yet! ;)

Well I made it to a bull and promptly died a ton of times on top of not kicking the ladder for the shortcut for a while. Any suggestions?

Check around page 114/115 of this thread for boar talk.

I'll save some trouble, since mrtomaytohead is fairly new to the game.

Spoiler:

Don't fight it. Draw out the soldiers one by one and then just run up the stairs to the right when the path is clear. Save the bull for later when you're stronger and more skilled.

mrtomaytohead wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Just wait, I'll bet you didn't find the OTHER path yet! ;)

Well I made it to a bull and promptly died a ton of times on top of not kicking the ladder for the shortcut for a while. Any suggestions?

I did that part recently! Well, kicking the ladder down is a good idea. After you do that, pay really close attention to the orange soapstone marks in that section. That will give you an idea. It requires a certain type of weapon.

So, last night, I played for about an hour (Undead Parish) showing my brother the game. It's so fun to walk through sections and explain your thinking as you do it. I love R2 followed up by R2 with the longsword although most of the time it's a waste of endurance on the smaller enemies. I got to the part with the elevator so now I have a shortcut back to Firelink Shrine from Undead Parish.

Thanks to the thread advice, I'm now focusing on leveling with Endurance. I had a fair amount, but when going around Undead Parish, it didn't feel like enough. I think that will be my main focus followed by Strength and Dexterity.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:

So, last night, I played for about an hour (Undead Parish) showing my brother the game. It's so fun to walk through sections and explain your thinking as you do it. I love R2 followed up by R2 with the longsword although most of the time it's a waste of endurance on the smaller enemies. I got to the part with the elevator so now I have a shortcut back to Firelink Shrine from Undead Parish.

Thanks to the thread advice, I'm now focusing on leveling with Endurance. I had a fair amount, but when going around Undead Parish, it didn't feel like enough. I think that will be my main focus followed by Strength and Dexterity.

My suggestion would be to focus on either strength or dex. Many weapons either have require,emits for high numbers of either or scale based on one or the other. Better for those two stats to focus on one or the other

SixteenBlue wrote:
imbiginjapan wrote:
mrtomaytohead wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Just wait, I'll bet you didn't find the OTHER path yet! ;)

Well I made it to a bull and promptly died a ton of times on top of not kicking the ladder for the shortcut for a while. Any suggestions?

Check around page 114/115 of this thread for boar talk.

I'll save some trouble, since mrtomaytohead is fairly new to the game.

Spoiler:

Don't fight it. Draw out the soldiers one by one and then just run up the stairs to the right when the path is clear. Save the bull for later when you're stronger and more skilled.

Maybe I was further along. I forget what level I was. I sorta killed him cheaply.

Spoiler:

I saw a mark that said to lure him out so I shot him with arrows. After a couple shots, I would run back into the doorway with the spiral stairs and ladder down to the rats. From there he just starts lumbering back slowly so you can pop out and shoot him a few more times before he charges back at you. You might even be able to hit him with a sword when he is lumbering back, but he would probably turn around because the damage would be higher than arrow damage. Anyways, that's what I did.

Kamakazi010654 wrote:

My suggestion would be to focus on either strength or dex. Many weapons either have require,emits for high numbers of either or scale based on one or the other. Better for those two stats to focus on one or the other

That's going to be a tough choice. I think I'll go through the weapons and see which ones I am interested in actually getting. Thanks for the advice!

All's fair in love and war, tuffalo.

And kamakazi is right - you basically want to pick either a focus on strength weapons or dexterity weapons, and focus on the related stat. Or focus on a school of magic, and its related goodies.

I've given up on focusing on stats for my first play-through. I'm leveling without much direction as I explore and experiment. I will probably do a min-max run next time and run a caster with a +15 katana. I plan on using the crystal magic weapon buff and various spells that require less than 25 int. I'll put my remaining points into mostly dex and endurance. Relying on light-armor is becoming a liability on my first character, I need to dodge more actively.

So, if I were to focus on strength or dexterity, how would each affect my build with a medium shield and longsword? I really like how that combat works. Are the similar super weapons that play like the longsword and require ridiculous amounts of strength or dexterity? I am a warrior build and thinking of going with a bit more dexterity than strength but probably keeping strength maybe 5 levels under the dexterity. I'll probably keep endurance at or a bit above endurance.

I think I'll do the strength build with a knight at some point to use those really big weapons.

Long sword uses Strength and Dexterity equally. Strength has the bonus of allowing you to wield heavier weapons and shields if you want to. Dexterity governs other weapons, including bows, and increases casting speed for most spells if you go as high as 35 Dex (see a wiki for details).

Dexterity does not affect anything like dodging or rolling, btw. The two stats essentially are only used for meeting equipment minimum requirements, and for scaling up damage.